Abstract
The conformity of Saudi dates cultivars to date standards has not been studied extensively. In this study, microbial loads and physicochemical characteristics of four Saudi date cultivars (Sukkary, Khalas, Sugai and Anbara) were determined. Anbara cultivar had significantly higher mould and yeast counts than recommended under Saudi technical regulation and standards for packaged whole dates. Moisture content and insect damage for all studied cultivars fell within Codex standards. Single fruit weight for pitted and unpitted dates was higher than recommended under international standards. Date cultivar had a significant effect on fruit color thus fruit color should be included in Saudi technical regulation and standards for date grading.
Highlights
The global production of fruit from the date palm tree (Phoenix dactylifera L.) was estimated at 7.75 million tons worth US $3.82 billion in 2010 (FAOSTAT, 2012)
Understanding the physicochemical, biochemical and microbiological characteristics of date palm tree cultivars is considered necessary for better utilization of dates
The results indicate that mesophilic aerobic bacteria, moulds and yeasts, and coliform loads ranged from 20 2.1 × 103, 0.0 - 900, and 0.0 - 1.2 × 102 cfu/g, respectively. These microbial numbers fall within the acceptable limits according to Saudi standards and Gulf standard organization (GSO) technical regulation for prepackaged whole dates
Summary
The global production of fruit from the date palm tree (Phoenix dactylifera L.) was estimated at 7.75 million tons worth US $3.82 billion in 2010 (FAOSTAT, 2012). Saudi Arabia is ranked as the second largest date producer in the world after Egypt, with an annual production of 1.078 million tons of dates produced from over 24 million date palm trees (FAOSTAT, 2012; Ministry of Agriculture, 2011). Palm dates are the most widely grown fruit in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Understanding the physicochemical, biochemical and microbiological characteristics of date palm tree cultivars is considered necessary for better utilization of dates. Physicochemical analyses of dates have carried out in many countries such as Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Sudan, Algeria and Tunisia [1,2]. Chemical composition and the quality of dates vary widely with cultivars and are close-
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